Six goals at Anfield
Jürgen Klopp is finally chasing the Champions League title with Liverpool FC, Manchester City and Pep Guardiola are also in the semi-finals of the “premier class”. Liverpool handed a 3: 3 (1: 1) in the quarter-final second leg against Benfica Lisbon on Wednesday evening for entry into the round of the top four teams. City didn’t need a win after going 1-0 in their first meeting either, advancing to the semi-finals with a 0-0 draw at Atlético Madrid.
While star coach Guardiola will now meet Real Madrid with the English champions, coach Klopp plays with the Reds against Bayern conqueror FC Villarreal. The semi-finals will take place on 26/27. April (first legs) and 3./4. May (second leg) instead.
Climbing Núñez & Firmino: Best Champions League Goalscorers 2021/22
Ex-Leipziger Ibrahima Konaté (21st minute) and ex-Hoffenheimer Roberto Firmino (55th/65th) ensured with their goals that Klopp’s team had a long and confident performance. Then Benfica came back: Goals from Gonçalo Ramos (32′), Roman Yaremchuk (73′) and Darwin Núñez (82′) were not enough for the Portuguese despite their late urge phase for the sensation.
It was not a sure-fire success for Klopp and Liverpool after the 3-1 first-leg win in Lisbon. In a fast-paced game, the hosts roused Anfield after just over 20 minutes when Konaté headed in from a corner. But Benfica held back. A first goal by Núñez (23rd) was disallowed for offside. Shortly thereafter, Ramos sank free in front of Reds goalkeeper Alisson to equalize.
That didn’t shock Liverpool at all. On the contrary: Driven by their own fans, the second in the Premier League table improved after the break. First, Firmino pushed into the short corner after nice preliminary work from Diogo Jota. Ten minutes later, the Brazilian converted a free-kick directly. After that, Anfield had to tremble. First Yaremchuk rounded Alisson and made the connection, then Núñez pushed in free-standing. The stadium fell silent for a moment, but it wasn’t enough for Benfica.
Guardiola trembles with Manchester City at Atlético to progress
In Madrid, on the other hand, almost everything went as expected for a long time: the English controlled the game with their possession football, Atlético were waiting for a counterattack. National player Ilkay Gündogan had the best chance in the first round. The City professional put his shot (30th) from a few meters but only on the post.
Only in the course of the second half did the Spaniards give up their defensive stance and push for success. In a heated final phase, Atlético could no longer score. In more than ten minutes of added time, the German referee Daniel Siebert showed seven cards instead, Felipe (90+2) even saw yellow and red.
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